Bypassing The Crazed Ones
by Hanny Gates
Summary: While the guys of A7X are out celebrating, Zacky turns up missing. When he wakes up he has no idea where he is, and someone keeps on injecting him with some strange liquid that's making him feel… Well, strange. Freedom is what he wants, but will he get it
1. Ch1 : Celebration And A Strange Man

Zack pulled into the driveway of his beloved home in Huntington Beach, California after spending some time over at his friend's house. He sighed and got out, locking the doors behind him. He never really looked forward to coming home to his girlfriend. She always nagged at him about anything and everything. On his way up the driveway he noticed that said girlfriend's car was packed full with her matching luggage set and other random belongings of hers. Upon seeing this, Zack began to feel almost, excited. He had been planning on breaking up with Gena for a while now. He couldn't stand her anymore and all the feelings that he had once had are all gone. Long gone.

He walked up the stairs and into his large house, discovering Gena getting ready to walk out the door, for good.

"Hey, Gena." Zack greeted her emotionlessly.

"Shit Zack. I wasn't expecting you home yet." Gena said, looking like a little kid who just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "We need to talk." She seemed flustered about something, which caused even more excitement to well up inside of him.

Zack just stared back at her with his arms crossed over his chest in accusation, still completely stoic.

"I don't love you anymore, Zack, and, well, I'm leaving you." She told him when he didn't answer.

Zack beamed at this wonderful news. Well, it was wonderful to him. He was very relieved. Maybe too relieved, but he didn't care, he's just thankful that he can check one more thing off of his to-do list. And plus, if it was HE who was breaking up with HER, he knew she would completely tweak on him, and he has no clue as to what would happen then and now, he'll never have to find out.

"That's all the reaction I get? A smile? Why the hell aren't you sad, Zachary? This is so not how-"

"Wait! I so gotta call Bri." Zack pulled his cell out and dialed Brian's number. He thought it was kind of funny, how she expected him to be sad and her expression when she saw his not so sad reaction was hilarious. This phone call couldn't wait.

"Hey Zacky, what's up man?" Brian's voice said through the phone speaker.

"Dude, Syn, Gena is breaking up with me!" Zack told his best friend cheerfully.

"Finally!" Bri cheered and Gena glared in the direction of her now ex and the phone at his ear. Brian has never liked Gena, nor have any of his other friends.

"Zachary!" Gena swung the bag at Zack's head, knocking the phone out of his hand, sending it tumbling down to the floor.

"Don't you dare hit me in my own home!" Zack yelled. "Get out of my house, Gena!" He pointed towards the door with a slightly pissed off, slightly amused look on his face.

She rolled her eyes and turned her back on him. She swung the door open, stepped over the threshold, and then slammed the door shut behind her.

Zack bent down and picked up his cell phone, putting it back up to his ear.

"Syn, call the guys! This calls for a celebration!" Zack told him.

"Alright Vengeance! Will do! How 'bout Johnny's bar, one hour?"

"That's perfect!" They said their goodbyes and Zack slid the cell back into his jeans pocket. He looked down at his faded black Jack Daniels muscle tee and pulled on the ends, straightening it from when he was assaulted by Gena. He let out a relieved sigh and walked up the stairs to his bedroom to lie down for a while until he had to leave.

Zack arrived at Johnny's Bar at precisely seven p.m. and found all four of his other band members crowding the bar counter with countless shots and beers.

Johnny was the first to notice his friend making his way over to the group. He jumped up from his spot on Matt's right and ran towards Zack.

"HIGHFIVE!" They slapped a high five and Zack sat down on the barstool between Brian and Matt.

*three hours later*

"I gotta…" Burp. "Piss…" Zacky slurred. He stood up and began stumbling towards the restrooms.

"Don't fall in!" Jimmy called after him.

Zack giggled and continued on towards the men's bathroom, trying to concentrate on not letting his face come into contact with the hard floors.

After finally making it to the men's bathroom, Zack did his business and then walked up to the sink to wash his hands.

The light overhead flickered as if it was about to go out and went still again. Zack looked up at it uneasily. He turned his attention back to the water faucets and switched on the warm water. He scrubbed his hands free of any germs that may have taken refuge upon his skin over the course of the night and switched off the warm water faucet. When the sound of the running water was no more, Zack began to hear faint footsteps approaching from behind. He slowly turned around, but there was no one in sight. He turned back around and reached for a paper towel, drying his hands, dripping some water onto the floor in the process. When his hands were finally dry, he threw the paper towel away and looked back into the mirror to check out his reflection one last time before heading back out to his friends, but was met with not only his green eyes, but a pair of piercing blue eyes staring back at him. The man with the blue eyes reached up and put something over Zack's mouth. He gasped in shock and breathed in whatever the man had put in the cloth that was now covering Zack's mouth, he began to feel dizzy and was to the point that he had to fight against his eye lids, which became very droopy.

And then, everything went black.

Don't forget to Review and tell me what you think! :)

~Hannah


	2. Ch2 : Stuck In A World Of Confusion

A middle aged man held a clipboard as he stood by the bed containing their latest specimen. Said specimen seemed to be in his mid twenties and the file on him confirmed it. He was at the age of twenty four years.

The man checked the heart monitor that had been connected to the specimen just as another man walked in. He had short, dark brown hair, blue eyes, and seemed to be in his mid forties.

"Does it seem to be working?" The man asked, walking up beside the older man, who had curly, dark gray hair and wore glasses.

"Yes sir. Everything seems normal. He won't remember a thing."

"Very well then Allmand. Just follow the normal procedure when #60-60-061 wakes up."

"Yes sir." Allmand replied.

"After you do that, have Root do his thing. Tell him to put #60-60-061 in with #30-30-150."

Allmand nodded and the man walked out, leaving only Allmand and the unconscious young man in the room.

Allmand, getting restless, decided to hum himself a little tune, not bothering to keep the volume down for his sleeping companion.

#60-60-061's eyes fluttered open Allmand's immediately stopped humming.

"Oh joy, you're awake!" He jumped up from the chair and smirked at the specimen's confused look.

'It must have worked.' He thought joyfully.

"Who… Who are you?" He asked.

"That's not very important right now. The important question right now is, who are you?" Allmand told him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. He thought for a second and then looked back up at Allmand.

"I… I don't know. Do you know who I am?"

"I'm not the one to ask. I'm gonna call in a colleague of mine to come and take you to where you will be staying." Allmand told him.

He walked over and pushed a button on a far wall, next to the door.

A few minutes later, a tall man walked in. He stood at 6'6" tall and had long brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Hello Ron, what do you need me for on this fine morning?" The man asked.

"New specimen, Jim." Allmand replied.

"I really wish you wouldn't call them that. They are humans, just like you and me." Jim replied. He wore a black lab jacket that said "J. Root" over his left breast.

"Whatever, just do your thing. Isaacs said to tell you to put it in with #30-30-150." Allmand snapped and left the room.

Jim walked over to a table and grabbed a freshly filled needle, feeling the eyes of his newest patient on his back. He turned around and took a step towards the bed only to freeze and nearly drop the needle in his hand.

"Zacky? Is that you?" he asked the young man in the bed. The man looked at him with a confused expression, tilting his head slightly.

"Who's this Zacky?" the man asked, growing even more excused by the second. Jim walked up to the side of the bed to take a closer look.

'Yep, that's him.' He thought. 'I was really hoping I wouldn't have to deal with Isaacs bringing in someone I knew.'

"You're Zacky." Jim told him.

"Really? I like that name. Is it short for something?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, Zachary."

"Zachary is a nice name. is your name Zachary?" Zack smiled and looked up at Jim.

Jim frowned in return and shook his head no.

"Let me see your arm, Zacky. You need this." He held up the needle.

"If you say so." Zack held out his arm and Jim pushed the needle in, injecting the contents into Zack's body.

"Okay, lets go." He helped Zack up and they walked out of the room into a long hallway. They walked all the way to the end, going through the door there.

"Your cell is right here." Jim finally said after they had stopped at a cell door that said "23" on the outside. "I call your roommate Beau."

"Why?" Zack asked.

"Because she wears a bow on her head." Jim told him, pointing to his head as he spoke.

"Makes sense." Zack nodded his head. "Well lets go in then."

Jim unlocked the door with a set of keys he had around his neck and led Zack inside. The room was made of brick and contained two mattresses and a sink with two plastic cups sitting next to the tap. A girl was sitting off to the left on one of the mattresses, and just as Jim had said she had a large, purple bow clipped into her blonde hair.

"Hey Beau, how ya feelin' today?" Jim asked as they walked in.

"Good. My back's hurtin' a bit though." She told him, grimacing at her own words.

"I know sweetie… I'll sneak you something for that with your lunch." He said.

"Thanks J.R." She smiled, and then looked over to where Zack was standing awkwardly next to Jim. "Who's the new guy, Jim?"

"Oh yeah, this is your new roomie, Zacky." Zack waved, but Beau had another idea in mind.

"Zacky!" She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace.

"Ummm, hi." He, in return, wrapped his arms around her. His eyes went huge when he felt large bumps jetting out of her back.

"I'll see you guys again when I bring lunch." He looked at the two and looked at them sadly then walked out the door.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's up with your back?" Zack asked, feeling a little bad, but he had a right to know if he was going to be sleeping in the same room as this girl.

"Oh, that." She giggled and grinned. "Those are just my wings beginning to grow."


	3. Ch3 : Secrets Unfold

It has been WAY too long since I last updated this! I bet you all agree.. So here is chapter three!

*Three days later*

"Jim! Will you stop injecting that shit into me?" Zack wailed. He has finally had enough of the horrible pain that this substance has been causing him.

"I'm sorry, Zack. I have to do this." Jim replied morosely. He pulled the needle out of Zack's arm and placed it in his belt. He was currently doing the daily rounds, or easily interpreted as him inoculating that wretched mixture into all of the innocent people who filled this cruel place. Well, that's what it meant to him anyway. He hated working here. He didn't need the money; he made enough of that with his music, but yet, he still comes to work every day. But there's a reason for that.

"Okay guys, I gotta go finish my rounds now." Jim said, grimacing at the end.

Jim made it through the day again without any bitching from Isaacs. That man really had it out for Jim most of the time. He had even turned most of the other guys against him too.

Isaacs was the reason he was here. A year ago he happened to stumble upon this place, attained a bit of classified information and has been forced to work here ever sense. He usually only flies in a couple times a month, but for the past seven weeks, he's been coming in five to six days a week all because he is actually in town working on a new record with his band mates.

Jim exited through the hidden entrance that was placed just outside of Memphis. He walked the short distance to where he had parked his car in the early hours of the morning and got in. He stuck his keys in the ignition, turning the vehicle on. He drove off to the house he was sharing with the band and parked in one of the two garage doors that were around back of the large brick house. The house never ceased to amaze Jim. It was just so big! He walked into the kitchen where Roy, their drummer, was eating a bowl of cereal.

"Oode! Fwinawy!" Roy spluttered. The large bite he had taken just before Jim entered the room plunged out of his mouth and drenched the white table cloth hat covered the kitchen table.

"Smooth." Jim stated. "And I am NOT cleaning that up." Last time something like this happened, which was last week; Roy made Jim clean it up. Jim was having none of that today.

"But then I'll have to!" Roy shouted, upset.

"Then get to it." With that Jim walked up the stairs towards his room.

The hallway was dimly lit, which probably meant that Shawn was asleep. Apparently Corey didn't care that his fellow band mate was asleep in the room beside him. As soon as Corey caught a glimpse of Jim in the hallway through the entryway to his bedroom, he was instantly in his grasp.

"JIM!" Corey yelled, pouncing upon the taller man causing both of them to tumble onto the hard wood surface beneath them. The walls shook from the impact. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

"Shhhhh… Shawn is asleep!" Jim whispered harshly. He was not in the mood to deal with a cranky Shawn.

"I know this." Corey reported just as a door flung open to reveal a boxer clad Shawn. A grimace was set upon his face and it was directed towards the usual cause of disorder.

Just as Shawn was about to scold Corey, he noticed the abnormal way Corey was positioned atop of Jim. "Ummm, guys; is there anything I should know about?" Shawn asked with a small smirk, all aggravation already flushed out of his system. "Corey, will you please keep it down. You knew that I was sleeping!"

"Of course Mr. Economaki. You go on back to dream land and Jim and I will just continue our conversation in my room." Corey replied in a business-like tone. He crawled into his bedroom and shut the door behind him, but not before grabbing Jim's wrist.

With Jim and Corey alone, Corey found it safe to bring up the topic he has been craving to discuss with his dear friend. Jim plopped down on the bed as Corey took a seat on his spinning desk chair. Corey spun around in his chair, everything around him blurring into a large blob of black, brown, white, and forest green. He continued to do so for another minute or two and that is when he finally decided to look over to where Jim sat on his bed, annoyed expression painted across his face. He stared intently at his annoyed friend until he finally decided to speak.

"I've wanted to talk to you about this for a long time Jim…" He started. "And I know this is kinda personal for you…"

"Then why the hell are you asking me then?" Jim snapped. He hadn't meant to, but he was tired. All he really wanted to do right now was to slip into a nice pair of sweats and go to bed.

Corey sighed. "Just hear me out man. We've been worried about you. You spend almost all week away from the house. It's taking us a lot longer to record this album than we expected all because when we go to do the guitar parts, you're not here. Josh can't do it all by himself! We don't even know how to contact you. You never have your cell on you. I tried to call you seven times today Jim. Where have you been going these past couple of months?"

Corey and Jim continued to stare at each other, never once breaking eye contact. Jim thought about telling Corey. He thought of all the good things that would come from doing so. He wouldn't have to suffer as much; he'd have someone to talk to about it outside of the hell hole itself. But if word leaked out that he told anyone, Isaacs would have him killed for sure. The more he thought about himself dying, the less he wanted to tell Corey, but then an idea popped into his mind. If Corey knew, then maybe, just maybe he could help Jim get Zacky, Beau and anyone else that they can out of that God awful place.

"Okay…" Jim paused, uncertainty and fear filling his gut, but yet he urged himself to speak the truth. He urged himself to stop hiding things from his fellow band mate and friend. "Remember last year when I disappeared? I was drunk, walked off and didn't come back for over a day?"

Corey thought for a second and then nodded his head yes, so Jim continued.

"Well… while I was off on my little drunken adventure, I happened to stumble across a hidden passage in the ground. It led to some sort of…. laboratory." He stopped, attempting to sort everything that happened that night into words.

"Wait, what does this have to do with anything?" Corey asked, confused.

"Shhh… You will find out." Jim reassured the shorter man. "Just let me finish."

Corey nodded his head and readjusted himself on his chair to make himself more comfortable.

"In that laboratory I saw things." Jim continued after Corey was situated. "Things I should not have seen. They were injecting animal DNA into humans Corey! I tried to get away unnoticed! I did... But they caught me. It was the guy in charge, Isaacs, who caught me. He had this man, they called him Rak, interrogate me. He looked like the teddy bear type of guy, but in this place, you can't let looks deceive you. He was a cruel man. They force me to go back. Once a month, or five days a week in this case, I have to go in. They threaten me, and beat me if I don't listen to them. They made me in charge of injecting their 'subjects' with the DNA."

Jim shut his mouth to give some time for all of this to sink in. After around five minutes, Corey gasped.

"That is fucking horrible!" He yelled.

"Shhh! Keep it down. You can't tell ANYONE Corey." Jim panicked.

"But they're forcing you to mutate people! We've gotta do something about this!" Corey whisper-yelled at me.

"I know, I know." Jim paused for a second, listening to the sounds of the house. Shawn was still asleep, and the TV was blaring down stairs. It was probably Roy. "That is exactly why I decided to tell you. Do you remember Zack Baker?"

"Of course! Zacky V! I love that kid!" Corey exclaimed.

"Well, this Isaacs guy has him locked up there. He's having avian DNA injected into Zack's system." Jim explained. He watched Corey's expression changed rapidly.

"We gotta save him!" Corey insisted.

"We will Corey." Jim said. "Now all we need is a plan."

Again I apologize for the wait.. I'll try and update as much as I can over the next couple months. I do truly love this story and I hope you all do too.. PLEASE Review and tell me what you think.. and I promise to be back for a while.

Hanny is missing no more.. I finally escaped from the clutches of the whomping willow! Woohooo!

Anyways, to my readers, I love you all! :)

~Hannah


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